Every now and then I like to take a stroll around Taipei Botanical Garden, and enjoy the relaxed surroundings and the ever-changing exuberant colors offered to the city dwellers. Near the end of last year, I accidentally discovered that the fourth floor cafeteria had changed its name to “Sanyu Café”; a waitress informed me that I should return for the upcoming new exhibition called “Selected Restored Works by Sanyu”! While waiting for the food, I leafed through a huge volume of a book on Sanyu, and immediately became enchanted by the tragic tale of the painter’s life.
Sanyu (1901-1966) was born in Nanchong, Sichuang China, to a literati and wealthy family. Being the 6th child in the family and also the doted-on youngest, at an early age, Sanyu started learning how to paint horses from his father, and was apprenticed to the great scholar Zhao Xi to learn calligraphy and landscape painting. In 1918, he visited his second eldest brother in Japan and studied painting there for a short time, but moved back to Shanghai the following year. At the time, Liu Hai-su’s Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts was strongly criticized for hiring female models to pose nude for the artists; some researchers believed that Sanyu had taken courses there.
In 1921, he moved to Paris as part of the Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement advocated by Cai Yuan-pei and rented a flat in Montparnasse, embarking on the path less travelled by his fellow Chinese students – he began to pursue painting at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, where artists only needed to pay a few francs for the models. Sanyu blended smoothly into the Années Folles in no time, and during the Crazy Years of the 1920s in Paris, he spent more time around cafés on the Rive Gauche than in the classroom, frequenting Brasserie La Coupole, Le Dôme, Café de la Rotonde etc., spots which are popular to this day. He befriended Alberto Giacometti, Picasso and many other painters of the so-called “Ecole de Paris” (School of Paris). Sanyu was at the prime of his life, but often failed to grasp opportunities; in 1928 he married a fellow student named Marcelle, but the marriage lasted only three years. His artistic overtures finally bore fruit when Henri-Pierre Roché agreed to be his dealer, but their partnership soon came to an ugly end in less than three years. In 1938, his eldest brother, who had financially supported him all those years, passed away; Sanyu went back to China and collected his share of the inheritance. At the end of the Second World War, he spent two years in New York trying to start a table-tennis business, but without a reliable source of income, he decided to return to Paris.
The last 20 years of Sanyu’s life was spent in abject poverty and hardship. Still, he was brusque to his buyers and patrons, often telling them: “pay your money first, do not look when I paint, then get your painting and leave!” In his own words, Sanyu said: “As for my work, there is no need for any explanation; when one looks at it, one should know what I want to convey…. it’s a simple concept.”
His last known work depicts a baby elephant running in a desert, titled “A Lone Elephant”. Sanyu said that the poor little creature was himself(Picture see Page 28 of NMH’s Parisian Nostalgia). In 1966, he died in a gas poisoning accident in his flat. His friend bought a lot in the cemetery, and he was buried without even a gravestone.
On May 9th, fifty-two WTIC members and friends joined us for the “Parisian Nostalgia: the National Museum of History’s Sanyu Collection” exhibition – a huge crowd for any museum tour. Needless to say, everyone came to listen to Mrs. Rita Shu-fan Wong’s analysis of Sanyu’s paintings! In a preliminary meeting before the museum visit, set up by our Art & Culture Chair Susan, Vivienne and I met with Rita; the four of us discussed how to manage such a sizable group in the not-so-spacious exhibition halls. I mentioned that Ms. Wang from the NMH also very kindly offered us standby personnel for any further assistance. In the invitation announcement, I wrote that Rita has compiled three Catalogue Raisonnés of Sanyu’s oil paintings, drawings and watercolors. She told us that a fourth volume on Sanyu’s prints and sculptures will soon be out on bookstore shelves. It is meant to be a symbol of farewell to Sanyu, whom she has studied for more than twenty years. I was so moved by her words.
I am sure Rita’s knowledge and expertise on the life and works of Sanyu is second to none; her career at Sotheby’s enhanced her scope and depth of knowledge in both Western and Oriental art. In her presentation, for every Sanyu painting within the NMH Collection, she prepared other renowned paintings for comparison or historical reference; for example, she compared Mark Rothko’s composition with Sanyu’s, which really impressed and enriched our audience! Yet of course, all good things must come to an end. At the end of the tour, our Club President Mrs. Lin Chi Lee presented Rita with our club brooch and a copy of our 2016 Club Newsletter to express our sincere appreciation! We then moved to the front yard of the museum for a group picture in closing of the museum visit.
I studied well the shortcut route from the museum to the lunch venue at Yu-feng Restaurant, and sent the file to a few people who offered to guide our members along the way. I would like to express my gratitude especially to Carol Sun who followed my instructions just a day ahead, walking back and forth just to time how long the trip will take, and for helping me with collecting the fees! And thank you, Olivia, for recommending the restaurant!
During the scouting process, I visited the museum three times, joined the public tour once, and ate two crispy smoked ducks– and I think I wouldn’t mind going back for more! The Sanyu exhibition lasts till July 2nd; I encourage anyone who hasn’t seen the exhibition to not miss the show!
By Jessica Liu Chia
Art & Culture would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the National Museum of
History and Mrs. Rita Shu-fan Wong for making this Sanyu event a big success!
More photos please link：https://plus.google.com/117693692102547850951/posts/EZZuhd5aUgN